Court rules in Sheaffer Pen plant cleanup case

The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled a company hired to clean up the Sheaffer Pen plant in Fort Madison gets to go back to court in its dispute over Sheaffer’s payment for its services. Executives with the Scheaffer Pen Company claimed Seneca Waste Solutions had breached its contract.

A district court ruled Seneca Waste was entitled to just $170,000 for its work in cleaning and decontaminating the pen plant in Fort Madison. Scheaffer shut down its on-site waste water treatment plant earlier than expected. That meant Seneca Waste had to dispose of that extra waste water.

The total bill for clean-up came to more than $211,000. Scheaffer executives refused to pay that much. Seneca Waste sued. The Iowa Court of Appeals has said the clean-up company has brought up a “genuine issue” regarding how contract documents with Scheaffer were drawn up, outlining how the firm was to be paid. The appeals court has sent the case based to district court.

The Scheaffer Pen company was founded in 1914 in Fort Madison. The pen plant in Fort Madison was shut down in March of 2008.